


to begin anew

by serendipitousDescent



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Future Fic, Introspection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 13:50:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8919520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serendipitousDescent/pseuds/serendipitousDescent
Summary: Yuri stares at the girl on the ice. She hasn't noticed him yet, but neither has she taken advantage of being alone. There is potential in the way she loops around the rink. More than that, there is something about her that reminds Yuri of himself.





	

Yuri stares out at the young girl on the ice. She hasn’t noticed him standing there yet, but neither has she truly taken advantage of being alone. There is potential in the way she loops around the rink.

More than that, there is something about her that reminds Yuri of himself. It isn’t exactly a mystery as to what that something is, not when the first time he saw her, she nearly punched one of Victor’s other skaters. Even at fourteen, she has the potential to be beautiful. Even at fourteen, she already has the spotlight shining on her, already thinks she has to change herself into something more for the sake of-

Well, for Yuri, it had been for the sake of his country and the sake of his pride. The former often used as justification for the latter, until he could hardly tell which way was up and which way was down.

If he were to approach her and tell her how too much of that could tear a person down right now, she would simply jump right into it. It’s exactly what he would have done. Contradictory until the point of no return. But not everyone has a Victor Nikiforov and a Yuuri Katsuki to put their head on straight, or whatever they’re calling themselves these days.

(Katsuki-Nikiforov, his mind supplies easily. Their vow renewal last month made sure everyone knew it.)

Arms wrap around his waist, pulling him in close, and Yuri chances a smile. There is exactly one person who would dare to touch him like this. Or, at least, one person who would also push his hair over his shoulder and nuzzle into his neck. He melts backwards, trusting Otabek to withstand his weight.

“Hey,” he murmurs.

Yuri feels Otabek smile against his neck. “Hey. Have you-”

“Not yet. I swear I wasn’t this oblivious back when I was her age.”

“You were.”

A muscle twitches in his cheek. “I was _twelve_ back then, not fourteen. Besides, only a freak would hold onto the memory of a twelve year old from a skating camp for three years.”

Otabek chuckles because this argument is far more habit than it is harmful. The number of times they’ve rehashed their meeting, either of them, is approximately infinite, though Yuri can never bring himself to mind. It’s important to both of them. With a bit of luck, it always will be, though the only thing Yuri can see parting them now is death itself.

A glance back towards the rink confirms she still hasn’t caught on, even with their quiet talking. “I still don’t get why that asshole left her with me.”

“You know exactly why Victor left her with you,” Otabek counters. “Does that mean you don’t want this opportunity? I know you don’t like the idea of following in his footsteps.”

“The only way I’d be following in his footsteps is if I straight-up adopted her!” 

Ah.

Yuri groans and leans back into Otabek again. There’s no way she hadn’t heard that now, not even if she had music blaring in her ears. The only upside is that Otabek takes his temper in stride, just like he always does.

It isn’t as if copying Victor is really the problem here. Yuri never took off for a foreign country just because he spent some night dancing with a Japanese pig. And yet, already he can see their disapproving faces. Usually only ever seen when he takes his attitude a step further than he should, meaning it’s been years since they’ve noticed that his temper hasn’t calmed so much as it’s been tempered.

No, the problem is that he’s terrified. Terrified that he’s going to do the wrong thing, push this girl into not just being the best skater she can possibly be and then some, but also into that state where she considers herself to be more than human. A beautiful monster, as Yuuri had called it on several occasions. There are lines he’s going to have to learn. More than that, he’s going to have to devote all of himself to her. She deserves nothing less than that.

“She’s looking at us, isn’t she?” he asks, eyes squeezed shut.

Otabek huffs out a laugh. “Yes.”

“And I should get started with this whole coaching thing.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I do,” Yuri says with a grimace. “If I turn her away, I’m going to get phone calls from _them_. There’s nothing worse than listening to the pig say he understands if I’m not ready for something, except maybe Victor pitching in with an ‘I wouldn’t have asked if I knew you couldn’t handle it.’”

“Maybe they’d be right.”

Yuri pulls away with a scowl, only just barely catching his new student’s eye before focusing his attention in on Otabek. There’s a bit of amusement there that lets Yuri know Otabek is only joking.

Not enough to stop Yuri from punching him in the shoulder.

“I’m just saying, maybe you don’t want to let them down.”

Yuri rolls his eyes. “Why would I be concerned about letting those shitheads down? They’ve done nothing but inconvenience me. And their lovey-dovey crap is annoying. You’d think after fifteen years of it, they’d calm down about how much they _care_ about each other, or how _proud_ they are of me.”

Neither of them point out how blatant of a lie that is. All the times they’ve helped rather than hinder, how much Yuri appreciates most of it. They know. Everyone knows and it pisses him off that they don’t care if he can’t force himself to say how much. Assholes, the lot of them.

Except for Otabek.

Otabek who cups Yuri’s face in his hands and leans up to kiss him, managing to chase the anger away. Just like always. It’s a talent Yuri doesn’t truly understand but that doesn’t stop him from taking advantage of it at every chance he gets. They part slowly, sharing in the soft intimacy of the moment. There aren’t enough minutes in the day to continue now, especially not with a fourteen year old watching, but later, once this is over, they will go home and lounge on the couch for most of the evening.

“Good luck,” Otabek grants, quietly.

“Thanks, but I don’t need it.”

“I know.”

The sap.

But Yuri smiles gratefully and turns towards his new student. Just as he expected, she’s watching them like a hawk, ready to swoop down at the first sign of weakness. And he likely just showed what she considers as weakness in shades. That won’t be the first misconception he’ll fix. Learning that love is a strength, rather than a weakness took him a long time and it likely would have been a lot longer if it wasn’t for Otabek.

She’s small and defensive, wary in a way that once more reminds Yuri of himself. No, the first misconception he’ll fix is that she has to hold herself to anyone’s standards but her own. As to what those standards are, well, it’ll be his job as her coach to help her decide.

Yuri expects they’ll be high. Perhaps higher than they should be.

“I’m not paying you to stand there and make kissy-faces with your boyfriend, old man!”

His mood sours.

Otabek holds back a laugh.

But he has experience with this now, even if a corner of his mind is denying that he was ever that bratty. It’s wrong. Yuri is more than well aware of how much of a brat he was. Maybe this is all some elaborate plot to get revenge for all those years of pretending to despise Yuuri.

“Isn’t it?” he goads, “You certainly haven’t shown me anything more interesting so far. I don’t lend out my services to just anyone, you know.”

Her lips set in quiet anger.

Well, Yuri supposes he did just give her an impossible task. Nothing is more interesting than Otabek’s lips and he expects she knows that. Good. Yuri will help her to the best of his capabilities but sometimes that can’t be achieved by being her friend.


End file.
